Writing a Literacy Narrative by Shannon Nichols

Nichols wrote her essay on proficiency for a college writing class with the audience of her essay being her professor and classmates. Shannon, in her article, is keen to explain her experience clearly as she even remembers even her first time she took her grade nine proficiency test. "The first time I took the ninth-grade proficiency test was in March of the eighth grade. " The test is a determinant of whether a student is eligible for a high school diploma, the proficiency test predisposes a student to a lot of pressure and anxiety. Throughout her middle school years, Shannon demonstrates herself as a bright and robust student who always secured herself a position on the honor roll. Her argument in the narrative is based on her seasoned skills in writing and her subsequent failures on the same.

The divergence between the dual is what captures the attention of the readers and audience who are willing to understand how that is possible. Typically, a skilled and a passionate writer in an academic set-up is expected to pass a test on the same, but the case of Shannon is ironic. The audience is, therefore, nostalgic of reading the narrative to help them understand how possible that was with Shannon. However, Shannon argues that her failures could have been attributed to how differently the readers of her work perceived it. "I wish I knew why I failed that test, because then I might have written what was expected on the second try, maintained my enthusiasm for writing, and continued to do well.

" Even though she passed the test for the third time, Shannon was convinced that she could have done better on if she knew the reasons behind her failures. The purpose of the Shannon to write on the topic is to bring to light the plight some students are unnecessarily subjected to. Many students in most Universities and colleges fail to graduate or pass their exams not because they do the wrong things but possibly because their teachers are unwilling to have them pass. Shannon therefore narrates her failures in proficiency tests, not because she was a poor student but just because of unknown reasons which even her teacher Mrs. Brown is thus a depiction of the numerous tutors and graders who are focused to see students fail yet they did as required.

"Unfortunately the graders of the ninth-grade proficiency test didn't feel the same, and when students fail the test, the state of Ohio doesn't offer any explanation. " Shannon in her narrative explains how she handled her failures in the proficiency test. Her failing love and enthusiasm for writing was the ultimate result which resulted from her two unexplained failures despite her obvious smartness in writing and other English classes. The failures also made her even doubt her writing skills knowing very well how perfect she was in it. The style Shannon employed in her narrative was therefore effective in supporting her stance. It is undeniable that Shannon was effective as she achieved her goal by sharing her experience back in high school.